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Re: [TowerTalk] Tips for Modelling swaged antenna tubing sections

To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Tips for Modelling swaged antenna tubing sections
From: jimlux <jimlux@earthlink.net>
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 2020 16:56:27 -0700
List-post: <mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
On 9/29/20 4:29 PM, jimlux wrote:
On 9/29/20 1:24 PM, john@kk9a.com wrote:
With NEC2 I avoid using short wires. If I had a swedged element I would use the length of the unswedge portion of the larger tube and for the next wire I would just add the length of the swedge portion of this tube to the smaller tube that fits inside it. The 1/8 difference in diameter for the small overlapping area should not make a difference on HF and I feel that the segments are more equal and that the model will be reasonably accurate.  Does NEC4 model short segments more accurately?

Yes, there's an improved basis function for the fields along the segment so it models short segs more accurately.  That said, I'd model it as 3 segments: tube from center, slightly larger diameter for overlap, skinnier tube continuing out.



from nec4userman.pdf

The main electrical consideration is segment length ∆ relative to the wavelength λ. Generally, ∆ should be less than about 0.1λ at the desired frequency. Somewhat longer segments may be acceptable on long wires with no abrupt changes while shorter segments, 0.05λ or less, may be needed in modeling critical regions of an antenna. The size of the segments determines the resolution in solving for the current on the model, since the current is computed at the center of each segment. Earlier versions of NEC suffered a loss of precision or complete failure of the solution when very short segments were used, but this problem has been corrected in NEC–4. The extremely short segments can be used with NEC–4, subject to limitations related to the wire radius as discussed below.


The wire radius a relative to λ is limited by the approximations used in the kernel of the electric field integral equation. NEC uses the thin-wire approximation, neglecting transverse currents on wires and assuming that the axially directed current is uniformly distributed around the segment surface. The acceptability of these approximations depends on both the value of a/λ and the tendency of the excitation to produce circumferential current or current variation. Unless 2πa/λ is much less than 1, the validity of these approximations should be considered.









John KK9A



jimlux wrote:

but does the model actually show much difference? One can get way down
in the weeds with this - put a tapered segment in that's 1 cm long, etc.
But if the wavelength is 20 meters, a 1 cm transition is 0.0005
wavelength.  I'd worry more about numerical instability than model
accuracy at that point.

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